2026-10-09 APP 2.0.0-beta48 has been released !
This is mainly a bug fix release for the reported bugs in beta47. In addition it has a significant User Interface performance improvement noticable when you need to process 1000s of images in APP.
2026-10-03 APP 2.0.0-beta47 has been released !
This is a very big release... many code optimizations/rewrites, many parts of APP are much faster and more precise, especially star analysis and registration are much faster ! Big mosaics will go much faster 🙂
And we introduce a new preview filter, which includes the new Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch and a General Levels Stretch, this has been long over due. The old preview filter (the panel on the right side to stretch and preview your data) has not been updated for a couple of years and it is a critical part of any APP session.
Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch or ADSS is a much more intuitive stretch algorithm. It is also color preserving (which is a great new addition in itself ! ) which means that the highlights are no longer bleached, color is maintained from the linear data while stretching. You can simply stretch your data using the sky background level and signal width sliders which work much easier and more intuitive. You no longer need to fiddle with the old complicated sliders with zoom buttons. All the zoom buttons for the sliders are made redundant. And you can enter slider values in the slider value fields yourself. I will make a youtube video in the coming days to explain and fully introduce ADSS. Once the video is ready, it will be highlighted on the forum.
RGB Combine upgrade !. The RGB Combine Tool has been rewritten mostly. The tool is faster and easier to use and most importantly, the Luminance slider to inject a luminance channel or channels into the RGB composite is now working correctly. It no longer bleaches the RGB colors. Combined with the new ADSS preview, you will get much better and easier great composites with great color! I will also explain this in a new youtube video.
Recently when combining a R, G, B, Ha, and OIII, I noticed that in the RBG combine the results were messed up. Searched around and discovered that my camera-imaging software were giving me a bayer pattern of GRBG, and not RGGB which was what I had APP set to.
Â
I changed it to GRBG and ran everything again, and in RGB combine the sliders did not change the colors thy were assigned too. I figured out which was which and the image came out decent just complicated.
Â
More research shows that the native pattern for my camera is GRBG. Should I be setting APP up for that pattern all the time?
Â
If the capture software does that then yes. It might be interesting to notify the developers of that software to this issue or switching to another capture program.
I did contact them with the same question, and they said that FITS inverts the RGGB to GRGB when writing, Sounds like Smoke and Mirrors to me, but I will do some testing to figure it out.
Main question is what is APP looking for when you just leave the setting at supported?
Â
The supported just takes what the FITS header mentions it is and processes it accordingly.
